The distance race is a struggle that results in self-discovery. It is an adventure involving the limits of the self

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

New Year, New Goals

So we clearly made it back to Jacksonville safe and sound, we arrived home late Monday night, and boy was Peachie happy to be home, she slept like a rock and slept most of the day Tuesday as well!Tuesday and Wednesday were spent tackling a HUGE to-do list of putting away decorations, cleaning, unpacking xmas presents, headed to the bike shop, exchanges on a few mis-sized xmas presents, laundry, pedicure, grocery store, well you get the gist...

I inherited a very nice racing bike this weekend from my Dad as John and I have talked about doing some more casual bike races as well as possibly a sprint triathalon, but when we took it in for a tune-up the costs were slowly amounting to that of a new bike and now I am super annoyed! I went into that store with a clear purpose of what needed to be done and the satisfaction of being able to cross something else off my to-do list. But then I started thinking about how I also wanted to be able to take my bike on more casual trails and rides and the super high-quality racing bike doesn't necessarily work well on those surfaces so now it has me wondering if I should buy a bike that is a tad more multi-purpose and if I get serious into the racing then I could also fix up the race bike- Like I said really confused now, and delaying my bike enjoyment of any kind.

John will most likely be buying a new bike, and probably soon, so whatever route I decide to go, I want to do so quickly so we can get out there and get riding- I would love to make that a Sunday habit of ours I think it would be so fun! We have also read great things about a lot of trails in the area that are paved so any bike would suffice so this is a high priority of mine this week!

We also went on a Chilly 4.5 mile run yesterday, the Garmin works GREAT and I put the heart rate strap to the test. I LOVE the stats it uploads to my computer so I can see my trends and what I need to work on, as well as it makes it easier on me not having to remember it all while running. Reviewing my HR from yesterdays run was a tad scary, my heart rate was VERY high for what I felt it should have been, It was a good run, but nothing excruciating or that I hadn't done before. We are chalking it up to the cold weather and will monitor it over the next couple weeks.

My normal resting HR is pretty low, usually about 90/55 which is good, so its not like I tend to have high BP or HR, so we are going to keep a close eye on this to make sure we don't need to follow-up further. I plan to copy my stat breakdown for tomorrow's run into my next post so you can all see the Fantabulousness tha the Garmin posesses!

We have pretty much tackled all of the important to-dos on our list, and tomorrow we are headed to Chateau Bloom to visit with the fam and for NYE Celebrations. We will venture home Friday morning for a Football filled day (including the Gators) and try a recipe I borrowed from Michele from last weekend:)

I also went and got myself a pedicure today as my toes looked gross! I realized I hadn't been to get one since the summer, and with all the running my feet certainly appreciated the pampering- I think after we do our half marathong I will reward myself with a pedicure AND a massage ( I am REALLY afraid of massages actually, the only one I have ever had was a sports massage and hurt SO bad- but I think will be super good in this situation!).

So back on track here, while getting my pedicure today I finally wrote out my 2010 Goals ( I will not call it full blown New Year's Resolutions, because some of these things I have already started working on) So here they go....

-Complete my 1st half marathon (Feb. 21, 2010)-Complete a 5k in under 30 minutes-Complete a 10k race- Continue to work on my weight loss goal (14 more lbs)-Live a healthier Lifestyle (key word here is lifestyle, I want to be able to maintain all healthier changes. More quality whole foods, less booze, plenty of rest, etc)-Drink more water-Save Money (always a good goal)-Improve the blog ( I need to start posing more on food and fitness- with pictures and more frequent posts)-Start Grad school classes-Spend more time with my friends-Learn to cook more variety/healthy foods- I have TONS of cookbooks and limited cooking skills

I feel like these are some lofty goals, but I am very anxious to accomplish all of them, and possibly a few more. So we will see where 2010 takes us, and I look forward to updating everyone along the way! Happy New Year to everyone, see you in 2010!!!